US doctors and psychologists more complicit in torture than previously thought

The extent to which US doctors and psychologists violated human rights and betrayed the ethical standards of their professions by designing and implementing a worldwide torture programme is greater than previously thought, says a report from Physicians for Human Rights.

The report is based on analysis of a previously classified report from the inspector general of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that was released at the end of August, on Barack Obama’s instructions and which provides more detail on the role of health professionals in the CIA’s torture programme, including abuses conducted against 14 detainees between September 2001 and October 2003.

The new report’s authors argue that the information shows that health …